Chain Reaction
by Kanna37
Summary: Lucy has brushed Loke's avowals of love off for the last time. Romance, Humor, Drama, fluff.


**Chain Reaction**

~~LoLu~~

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Fairy Tail.

~~LoLu~~

Loke sighed, the perfect picture of a dejected feline.

He was terribly bored. Things had been too quiet for the last little while. Nothing interesting was happening in the spirit world at the moment, and Lucy hadn't called for him in some time, at least by her timeline.

Frowning in concentration, he did the math. Something like... two weeks? That sounded about right.

And that was all wrong.

It should never be more than an hour our two _his_ time at _most_. He despised that he couldn't be with her constantly, if he were honest, but at least she'd always called on him frequently since they'd become partners.

Not lately, though.

He'd tried being patient, knowing that his little master didn't like it when he just popped out on her on his own, but that patience was finally running thin and he was beginning not to care about the possible consequences of surprising Lucy. (And there would be consequences. His goddess did _not_ like those kinds of surprises in the least.)

He pouted petulantly and stared into space, chin in hand. "I mean, what can she really do? Yell at me? Maybe smack me, if I manage to catch her in a.. vulnerable moment..." his suddenly lascivious thoughts trailed off into thin air. _Why_ hadn't he ever thought of that before?!

 _Mmm... naked Lucy..._

Sure, popping out of his gate at odd moments _probably_ wouldn't net him much in the way of quick rewards. But he usually had a solid place in fortune's affections, and this could be where that paid off.

 _If_ he took the chance and forced his gate open.

Loke stood up, decided. To hell with worrying about his Lucy's temper. The possible benefits of cornering her most definitely outweighed the _guaranteed_ consequences of flaming her formidable ire.

It was really a forgone conclusion, considering the source.

 _Oh, well. Fortune favors the bold, and all that,_ he grinned devilishly and faded out of sight.

He was definitely bold. He was a lion, after all.

~~LoLu~~

Loke made a mental note to have a word with fortune sometime in the near future.

 _The guild, is it? Damn. Ah, well... next time. Definitely next time._

The stellar lion ducked a wooden stool that went flying overhead courtesy of a fight between what appeared to be Natsu, Gray, Nob, and Bixlow before he'd fully even phased into the mortal realm, and looked around through narrowed eyes for his master. If those ruffians had hurt her with their barbaric behavior, he was going to cut loose on them all...

 _Target acquired_ , he thought with relief and an inward grin as he caught sight of his prey. The blonde mage was leaned up against the bar safely out of reach of the fight, watching the brawl while talking idly to Levy, Erza, Cana, and a few others.

Knocking a tankard out of the air that was heading for his face, Loke straightened his suit and adjusted his tie before sauntering casually over towards the beautiful girl-of-his-dreams. He idly wondered what her first words to him were going to be this time.

"I _knew_ I felt that gate opening!"

His internal query was now answered.

He put his hands up and smiled his most charmingly, hoping to stall her temper before it could get started – which it would, especially if she ever figured out that he was now bent on actively _trying_ to catch her during a moment of intimate dishabille. "I was getting worried, Lucy-love. I don't think it's been this long between summons even once since you became my master, and I couldn't help but wonder if something had gone wrong."

She grimaced, and he knew it was at the word 'master'. She'd told him many times before that she wasn't, she was his _friend_. "Yeah, it's been a while. There hasn't been one job worth taking in almost two weeks. I didn't mean to worry you."

"It's okay," he winked as he stepped up and joined her at the counter. "The usual, Mira!" he called to the barkeep. "I'm just glad to find everything's alright. Wonder how long the dry spell's going to last, though?" he mused. "Fairy Tail is almost always pretty busy, so for there to be a quiet streak, especially one _this_ long, is amazing. And scary, because when it _does_ happen, things usually go to hell in a hand-basket right after." It was his turn to make a face. His master was going to be in danger again soon.

He despised that thought with everything inside him.

Mirajane heard his statement and sighed as she swept up and set his preferred poison in front of him. She glanced at the blonde and shrugged ruefully. "It's true, unfortunately. This is probably the calm before the storm."

Lucy's upper body flopped onto the bar and she moaned in dismay. "Great. Just great."

Erza chuckled. "Those are the times that pay our rent. Besides, if Fairy Tail was like _this_ all the time, we'd be bored to pieces. It's just the way this guild is. We thrive on challenges, and laziness is not challenging."

In the background Cana lifted her mug in agreement and then slammed back another long chug, too busy drinking to stop for any reason as pathetic as mere talking.

Loke chuckled inwardly as he took a swallow of his own drink and watched his friends quietly. _I miss just hanging out like this sometimes..._

"Yeah, but couldn't they pace themselves a little better?" Lucy was currently groaning. "Why do they have to come all at once?"

"But I like it when a lot of jobs happen at once," a little voice piped up, and Happy landed between an amused Loke and where the celestial mage was – sort of - sitting. "Lots of jobs means lots of fish!" he cheered.

The lion chuckled at that declaration. "Look who's got his priorities straight," he toasted the exceed with a smile.

"Right?!" Happy grinned up at the spirit. "You're a grown-up cat, Loke. You must love fish, too!"

Loke caught Lucy's rolled eyes from the corner of his own, and a little devil made him say, "I _like_ fish, Happy. But there's only one thing _this_ grown-up cat _loves_ , and that's Lucy."

The blue exceed giggled, paws over his mouth as he stared at a smirking lion. Then he looked over at a now-glaring blonde. "Did you hear that, Lucy? He _looooves_ you!" he parroted. "Loke and Lucy, sitting in a tree..."

A dark aura suddenly burst into life around the young woman in question. "Stop that, you two! I've told you before, Loke, it's not nice to play with a girl by saying things like that to her. There's just some things you shouldn't joke around about!" she reprimanded, her voice impatient.

Like a mother to her recalcitrant child.

Even afterward, Loke couldn't pinpoint _exactly_ what it was about that particular statement that shoved him into doing something he'd not originally intended, because it wasn't like they hadn't had conversations remarkably similar to that one before. But whatever it was, something snapped inside him and in that moment he just couldn't take any more provocation on the matter. So he stopped thinking and just reacted.

It was disturbingly easy.

"Who says I'm joking?" he demanded, his features calm yet flat now, the animation of only a moment before vanishing as if it had never been.

A deepening scowl met his burning gaze. "Loke," she growled warningly at him as she sat up straight, "if you know what's good for you, you'll stop whatever game you've decided to play today. I'm really not in the mood."

He began to glower at her then, a strange, dull anger forming in his chest and squeezing at his heart. She wouldn't even give his words _five_ _seconds_ consideration, instead continuing to blind herself to the truth with her past impressions of him. Had she bothered to even _notice_ how much he'd changed since meeting her?

"You shouldn't assume so much, Lucy," he returned a bit acidly, oddly hurt at her refusal to really _see_ him and getting more upset over it by the minute. _What's wrong with me? Why am I getting so mad about this all of a sudden?_ "You have no idea how I feel."

"And who could blame her?" interjected a cool voice before the woman in question could defend herself, and Loke's glower lifted into a frown as he glanced at the red-haired, armor-clad mage who'd spoken. "It's not as if she's the only woman you've flirted in like manner with." _Even up to and including me,_ was the silent message.

Message received loud and clear. _Taking potshots, are we?_ _Fine then. All hands to battle stations,_ he decided recklessly.

"As of right now I'm single, so what does it matter if I lightly flirt with a girl? It's not like anything is going to come of it, because I've no desire for another woman, I can guarantee you. So, tell me, Erza my _dear_ ," he fired back pointedly, "when was the last time you saw me doing more than just that with any woman but Lucy?"

Silence fell around them as all the girls present – and Happy – contemplated that question.

"Well, in Edolas you were too busy on a seemingly _all-important_ _date_ to respond when I needed you, despite what you've promised me several times over. You never know. That could have been a life-or-death sort of call, but the possibility didn't seem to bother you," a particular feminine voice snapped irately after a minute. "Yeah... that _totally_ seems the way a person would behave towards a girl they supposedly love!"

Loke winced at the blow and damned himself silently for that particular happenstance. She had every right to be angry at him for it, and he couldn't deny it. If something had happened to her because of his mistake, he'd never have been able to live with the guilt and self-hatred he would consequently have been overwhelmed with. Hell, she had come out of the situation in question just fine and he still felt _terrible_ remorse and shame that he'd even put her into it in the first place. He could only consider it a good thing that if she _had_ died through his actions – or lack thereof - he would have been permanently expelled from the celestial realm for breaking yet another contract. For a celestial spirit that was a death sentence, which of course was the whole point.

He shook his head, his eyes far away and his frown now directed inwardly. "That situation... wasn't _quite_ how it appeared," he finally said in answer, his gaze flicking up to meet Lucy's after a minute with regret in it. "There were... certain mitigating factors, but in the end you're right. I misjudged things and made a bad call. Had something happened to you, I'd have been right back in the same boat as I was with that whole thing with Karen, and I'd have welcomed my death with open arms. If it matters at all, I'm sorry. It'll never happen again, that I can promise you."

There was a raw pause, and then Lucy cleared her throat. "Yeah, well, all that aside," she muttered, looking away uncomfortably as she began to blush, "that's still a far cry from loving someone."

She _still_ refused to believe him!

"Why, Lucy, is _that_ situation why you won't consider me?" he asked in mock surprise. "I wouldn't have taken you for the type to hold a grudge like that, but all this time you've just been acting like a jealous lover? Well, if you're going to act the part, babe, shouldn't you _be..._ my jealous _lover_?" he purred seductively, daringly poking at the sleeping beast in his frustration with her stubborn refusal to accept the verity of his affections.

Said beast came to life with a roar – and then promptly tried to run.

"I'm leaving! I'm going home, and you'd better not show up there, you hear me?!" she shouted as she spun on her heel, a defensive flush painted across her cheeks. She pushed through the completely silent group surrounding them with impatient and shaking hands, intent on escaping.

 _Oh, no you don't!_ She wasn't getting away from him again. This was going to be resolved _now._

Loke stormed after her, managing to outflank and cut her off at the last moment, which forced her into either stopping or crashing headlong into him.

She wisely chose to stop.

 _He wished she hadn't._

"I love you," he insisted heatedly as soon as she did, too angry to care about all that he was giving away with his outburst. "So don't you dare just blow me off again!"

She drew herself up, a hard light in her eyes he didn't like. "Hmph. The same way you've loved _all_ the girls you've been with, I'm sure," she dismissed his assertion and threat with a wave of one small hand as she moved to turn away from him for the second time.

He reached for her arm before she could and pulled her closer to him, refusing to let go even when she tugged against his hold. "Don't," he demanded with sudden aggression, his voice low and vehement and stunning her into silence. "Just don't. Yes, there've been a few women I've cared about or was fond of, but I've never _loved_ one. Until now."

A scoff was his answer as she held herself tensely away from him. "Liar. You love _Aries_ at least, I know you do, so don't say you've never loved a woman before." She mumbled something under her breath that he didn't catch. "You love me. Heh. Well, if that's even true I'm in good company, I suppose."

Loke grabbed her other arm at that and yanked her into him, the move catching her so off-guard that she was unable to resist until it was too late and she was trapped against his chest.

Her eyes widened and snapped up to meet his as she gaped at him.

"You're in _no_ company. Sure, I love Aries like a little sister that needs protecting, but I _definitely_ don't see you that way. You want clarification?" he snapped _._ "Fine, I'll give it to you. I am _in love_ with _you,_ Lucy Heartfilia – and that's something I've never felt for any woman before. Refuse me if you don't feel the same, but don't ever deny or demean how I feel about you again. You aren't anyone else, and no one else could _ever_ possibly be you."

Lucy appeared so thrown by his declaration that she was speechless. Her eyes were blown wide open and completely defenseless, and Loke was nothing short of triumphant at what he could read in them. He'd _finally_ broken through to her. And while he could see that the conversation wasn't quite over with yet, things had at last taken a turn. It was about damn time, as far as he was concerned, not that most of her disbelief wasn't his fault to begin with, he acknowledged tiredly to himself. He'd never have thought that his prolific past with women would be coming back to haunt him... but then again, he'd never suspected that he would fall in love, either. Not after every woman he'd ever met had failed to incite that particular emotion in his heart. He'd long since begun to wonder whether he was even capable of feeling love in such a way.

Then he'd met her, and he'd learned the hard way that he was more than able to fall in love – he was apparently just very, very selective when it came to giving his heart away in that manner.

Which was actually a good thing, now that he thought about it... and a natural one. He was a cat, after all, and most cats _were_ pretty finicky.

They were both so caught up in each other and the situation that neither paid any attention to the entirely-silent guildhall, having long-since forgotten that they were in a public place at all. No one else registered with either of them... and nor did the fact that they had become the day's entertainment. Maybe even the week's. This little altercation would be thoroughly talked about for a while.

The two continued to stare at each other, Lucy just plain shocked, and Loke not sure exactly what should come next.

A nudge from behind got him talking again – not to mention the reminder that they were both under the intense scrutiny of the entire guild. He shot a sharp glare over his shoulder, though at this point he had no idea who'd actually done it.

"Maybe we should take this someplace else," he suggested to a still tongue-tied Lucy, who looked around, suddenly knocked out of her shock with discomfort at all the knowing and amused eyes pinned to them.

She flushed deeply and dropped her gaze, obviously embarrassed. "Uh, yeah," she agreed softly, "that might be a good idea."

He eyed their friends a little belligerently as he reached over and grasped her hand. "Then let's get out of here – preferably _before_ anyone else starts talking." Then he practically ran from the guild in an attempt to avoid just that, dragging the blonde along behind him.

That didn't stop all their so-called nakama from shouting out a variety of teases, unneeded tips on how to finish their talk, and lewd suggestions of what they could do after they _did_ finish talking, of course. (Not that Loke was at all averse to _those_ particular ideas.)

Still... _Nosy busybodies,_ he snorted to himself.

Unwilling to take Lucy home, because heavens only knew how many people had a key to her apartment and he really didn't want any further interference in things by their admittedly well-meaning group of friends, the celestial lion spirit headed for the central park and the rainbow sakura grove, instead. While it was technically a public place, not too many people would be out there at that time of day, leaving them able to talk with at least some privacy.

In his rush to get away from the guild he was still holding quite tightly to Lucy's hand, but though nothing had really been settled between them yet, he found himself very reluctant to let go. So he didn't, instead ignoring all the glaring reasons he shouldn't be holding on to her like they were an established couple already.

He didn't fail to note, however, that not once since he'd grabbed her had she protested his touch or tried to free herself. If he didn't know any better, he might say she almost looked... _content_ with the contact.

 _Oh, what a happy thought._ He could only hope she was.

Unfortunately, far too soon for his liking, they reached their destination and he was forced to let her go. He gave her hand a squeeze – which she surprisingly returned, causing his hopes to rise – and then released her and motioned for her to take a seat in the grass. He followed her down, arranging himself at a slight angle next to her.

An awkward silence fell, leaving him jittery. Things had moved so insanely fast that he was still trying to make sense of it all.

"Why now?"

Loke blinked, a little blindsided by that question coming out of nowhere. "What?" he stalled, trying to give himself enough time for his rather frazzled mind to catch up. He didn't want to make more of a fool of himself than he already had.

She sighed. "All the flirting. You _knew_ I didn't take you seriously about any of it and that fact never seemed to bother you before. So why did it suddenly matter to you _this_ time _?_ "

He scratched the back of his neck. "Actually, I'm not sure," he admitted a little sheepishly. "I think... most of it was that I just really missed you. I've spent most of the time since I last saw you trying to convince myself not to force my gate open, especially as more time passed and I began to worry that something was wrong. I know you don't like it when I do that."

"Oh, Loke, no," she almost moaned, now looking upset. "You're free to come and go as you please – I don't own you! You don't need my permission to visit your friends or do whatever you want. I just don't like it when you try to ambush _me_. I'm not fond of being cornered by unexpected guests suddenly appearing in my house out of thin air."

A wry chuckle stole from his chest unbidden at that. _Didn't I just think something along those lines earlier?_ "No kidding," he agreed amiably. "But then again, most people probably aren't," he added with a small smile in her direction.

She smiled tentatively back and then blushed. "So... you said mostly. What's the rest?" she prompted.

"Oh, yeah," he laughed a little self-consciously. "I guess it bothered me more than I realized that you always dismissed my words. I hadn't planned on saying anything about it, at least not at this point. But something about what you said today-" he frowned in deepening thought, "-or maybe _how_ you said it, just really got to me this time. I don't know if I'll ever know for sure exactly. I'm... sorry. I wish I could tell you, I truly do."

"No, it's okay," she waved his explanation aside. "I understand well enough. I'm sorry, too. You know, for not taking you seriously. You were right... I never should have just assumed anything."

"It's not entirely your fault. Erza was right, too, in a way. It's not like it wasn't my own behavior that condemned me in your eyes, so I guess I can hardly blame you for taking me at face value. I'm really sorry for blowing up at you like that." He took a deep breath and glanced quickly at her, trying to judge her expression. He cleared his throat, a severe case of nerves attacking him. _Stars, I hope she doesn't turn me away... I don't know what I'll do if she does._ "Not to change the subject, but... how do you feel about what you know now?"

She fidgeted and avoided his gaze, and his heart sank. He prepared himself for rejection. _She probably loves Natsu or something._ Just the thought alone almost killed him.

"I... uh... well, I... Oh, for heaven's sakes," she said suddenly, her voice exasperated, which caused him to snap his gaze to hers and watch with fascination as a blush crawled down her cheeks and across the expanse of cleavage that was bared by her choice in shirt, "just ask me out."

He blinked, then blinked again, certain he'd misheard her. _Did she really just say that? Or am I so eager to be with her that I'm simply hearing things?_ "What?" he asked carefully, his face frozen with surprise.

"You heard me! Just ask me out, like a normal guy would a girl that he has feelings for."

It took a few moments for all the implications of her demand to play out within the confines of his severely confused psyche, but when they did, his heart almost burst with joy. A smile slowly crept across his face and his eyes brightened.

"Lucy Heartfilia, I absolutely adore you. Will you go out with me?"

"Yes," she smiled in return, her eyes twinkling a little bashfully, "I would love to go out with you, Loke."

The world exploded into bright color and sparkling delight, and the lion suspected that he'd never see anything the same way again.

He was good with that.

~~LoLu~~

So, this one shot interrupted my next chapter of Backfired. I wrote the middle first, then I went back and wrote the beginning, and finally I got to the end, lol. Hope that doesn't show in the story, though. I wouldn't want to confuse anyone. Sheesh. Talk about a backwards fic... I'd love to know what my imagination was smoking when it came up with this, because I think I want some.


End file.
